Demo - Day 1

Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Builder and I have both been working crazy hours, and so the renovation of our guest bathroom had been put on hold. This weekend he had two days off and wanted to make some progress (we're still wanting it done by Christmas!). And so he started removing the tile so we could replace the cement board.

You know those home decorating shows where they always find more problems than anticipated? Yeah, that seems to be the story of my life. Upon taking down the first portion of tile from the back wall, we discovered the 2x4's were completely rotted out.

Those black and disintegrated things? Those are the wall studs. Almost nothing was holding the window up!!! Also the insulation was completely rotted out as well. Fun times. So we made a morning run to Home Depot to pick up a few supplies:

The Builder estimates we'll need about eight 2x4's, so we bought 10 to be safe. New insulation. Gloves. Cement Board. And a reciprocating saw, which he claimed to need. And really, what's a home improvement project if you can't buy a new tool or two? Yeah, so we got that too.

The bright pink 2x4 studs? Those are treated lumber, and lower in cost. Since they'll be hidden by drywall, we went for the cost savings.

The demolition process it self has been quite...interesting...

Tearing it all apart...

The tile in the shower? They used linoleum glue to adhere the tile. Yes, the same glue that the linoleum floor (that's under the tile you see in this photo) has. NOT intended for shower tile!! We literally pulled this chunk of the wall off with no effort.

The only thing that saved the hardy siding on the outside of the house from getting destroyed was the vapor barrier. We continue to be amazed at the shortcuts we find that builder take here in TX. This tile was not part of the renovation the previous owners did to the home. It's original. Yes, it makes me nervous to think about things that we can't see!

A little more on that...

Speaking of things we couldn't see. The tile floor. We needed to remove the bathtub to replace the 2x4's so we had to cut back the drywall and remove some of the floor tile to pull it out without damaging it (I'd like to not have to buy a new tub, thank you very much). What we discovered was that there used to be a builders grade linoleum floor in the bathroom. Instead of removing it and laying new tile, someone laid a thin layer of cement board over it, then tiled over that. That's why the moldings were covered up and narrow. We also discovered that the sub floor around the tub was weak and spongy. Considering how much water was leaking, we weren't really surprised. So now we're going to rip out all the tile, replace the sub floor, and re-do the floor the way it should have been done.

So the tub and shower are out! Next up is replacing the 2x4's first. Then we'll have to remove all the tile, replace the sub floor, install the cement board on the walls, replace the drywall, re-tile the shower (all the way to the ceiling), and re-tile the floor. We're also going to take out the old medicine cabinet, update the lighting and bath fixtures in the shower, and if I'm really lucky, replace the vanity and make it a double sink.

I'd love to say that this is a two weekend project - but it most definitely is not! My hope is that over the long Thanksgiving weekend, while I am out completing my Black Friday shopping and Christmas decorating, we'll manage to get the first half of the list completed. And maybe, just maybe, it will be done in time for Christmas!